Halt is Royalty
by SPN221B
Summary: Everyone knowns that Halt is crown prince of Clonmel. Everyone also knows that he gave up that crown to his nephew, Sean. But what if he had never needed to leave in the first place? And what if, when he was still prince a war started up in a neighbouring country? Who would've won? And say if the "black lord" did would we have any Rangers left there? Summary countined inside... AU
1. Summary and Author's Note

**_Summary:_**

Everyone knowns that Halt is crown prince of Clonmel. Everyone also knows that he gave up that crown to his nephew, Sean. But what if he had never needed to leave in the first place? And what if, when he was still prince a war started up in a neighbouring country? Who would've won? And say if the "black lord" did would we have any Rangers left there? Who would've protected Will as a baby? Or trained Gilan? The answer is no one. Will would've been dead, and Gilan too most likely.

But let's say in an alternate deminsion, the Halt we know was a was Ranger. And he had two apprentices. And those two apprentices were teleported to a time where Halt, was royalty.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 **Ranger's Apprentice is a book series we all know well. There's currently fourteen books and over 1.7k fanfics for this series. We all love the Rangers, some more than others. And if you're a true fan, then you know how much of a vital role Halt plays. You also know that from the beginning, this Ranger had a secret.**

 _ **Hold up! If you're going to read any further than you should know there are spoilers for prequels 1 and 2, plus books 8 and 9!**_

 **Halt be royalty was probably the last thing us readers expected. And this was part of Flanagan's plan. The entire time. So allow me to shine some on the subject. Let's go back and see the results of a world without Halt the Ranger and instead Halt the King.**

 **Warnings for this story: Maybe some cussing in later chapters.**

 **Rating: T to stay on the safe side.**

 **Side notes: This story will be updated once a month, every third Saturday.**

 **Enjoy my take on this dark, gloomy realm.**

 **Best Regards,**

 **PFT3000**


	2. Chapter One

_Chapter One_

The last two weeks had held nothing, but rain. Rain that threatened to flood rivers and moats. The king hated rain. Rain was something that only brought dispair and pain. Five years now as king, he thought. Five hears since my father passed away. Twenty-one since my brother died. In those twenty-one years, he had watched the Kingdom of Araluen fall.

After an evil and had rose up, King Oswald and the crown prince, Prince Duncan, had both been killed. Oswald had never been much of a king, but Duncan was a good prince, even though most thought he was some what of a traiter. The king's spies told him different. His spies were people to be trusted. They were from Araluen themselves and were highly trained archers.

Rangers, the king thought. Powerful, dangerous allies, loyal to the king first and second only to him. Twenty years ago, he had started taking them in. There was only around fifteen, plus three apprentices, and four retired Rangers. According to an older Ranger, Pritchard was his name, there used to be fifty. Slowly, over the years, they had built up the numbers. They had fifty-four Rangers, seven apprentices, and thirteen retired Rangers currently, and the number kept growing each year.

Since he had been king, he had united the seven tribes of Hibernia, made peace and alliance with the Celtics and Scotti, and helped over seventy Rangers. He was a popular king, and very just too. He didn't like people and he wasn't very happy. Of course he had been happy when his nephew had been born and on other occasions, but otherwise he was pretty grim.

Staring out the window in his bedroom chamber, there was a knock. "Come in." he said gruffly.

The door opened and shut very quietly, which clued him in on who it was. Only Rangers moved tyhat silently, and only one ever came straight to him. It was the Ranger commandant and his best friend.

"Good evening Crowley. Come to give me the monthly report I assume?" the king said gently.

Crowley shook his head. "No. Actually I've come to tell you about two strangers."

"Who are they?"

"They claim to be Rangers from the Kingdom of Araluen. The younger one was named Will Treaty, the older, Gilan Davidson. They requested to meet with you." Crowley said in a very strange tone.

The king raised an eyebrow. "Why should I?"

"Because they weren't looking for the king of Clonmel. They're looking for Ranger Halt of Redmont fief."

* * *

 **So every chapter, I'll do guest reviews, but if you're part of , I'll just PM you.**

 _ **Rangerguest:** Well thank you! As soon as you read it, you can read this. Don't worry, there won't be more than two chapters._

 **Best Regards,**

 **PFT3000**


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"Ranger Halt? You must be joking Crowley. I only know one Halt, and that's me, and I'm king." King Halt laughed slightly.

"I'm not. They knew who I and half of the others were. Both wanted to see Ranger Halt."

Halt turned to face the Ranger. "Do you trust them?" he asked seriously.

'Personally," Crowley started, "I don't. I think they may be spies for Morgarath. But I would've thought we would have heard from our spy by now."

A worried look flickered across the king's face for a mere sevond. It vanished without a trace. Every three months they sent a Ranger over to Araluen. The Ranger would meet up with another who had been spying on Morgarath. They'd switch postions and go on their way. The Ranger who just went over, traveled the countryside. getting as much infomation as possible. There was never a lack of it. The other took a report back to Crowley. From there, Crowley would give it to the king.

The last Ranger had just got back five days ago. Which meant Morgarath would've had a clear path to send spies. If they wanted to find out who these people were, they would have to take a risk.

"I'll meet them." Halt said quietly.

"But Halt. We don't even know who they are. They could be assasions to traders to..." Halt quickly cut Crowley off.

"And theu could be who they claim to be. We just don't know. We'll have to take a risk."

Halt walked towards the throne room, where the strangers were waiting. As he walked off he could've sworn he heard Crowley mumbled something about him being stubborn. A small flirted across his face. Right you are, he thought. Stubborn is my best quailty.

Right before the guards opened the doors he called the three Rangers around him to stand down. Crowley, being one of them, copied the order to the others, but slipped in without notice away. The two strangers stood there, unfazed by the king's withering glare. Guards forced them to kneel, but they were strong. Very strong.

"What brings you here strangers?" Halt asked, noting their strength and going out of his way to respect them.

The older one took the lead. "Don't you recognize us? We both trained under you for five years."

Halt searched his mind, looking for anything he might know about him. Other than when Crowley said his name was Gilan, he found nothing.

The king shook his head. "I know your name, but that's it. I have no other information on you two." In a feeble attempt to make it up to them, he added, "I'm sorry."

Will and Gilan glanced worriely at each other. It was clear that the two knew each other well. Turning towards Crowley, who had remained unnoticed by all except the two young Rangers, Will stepped forward and spoke.

"How about you Crowley? Do you know who we are?" he questioned.

The Ranger Commandant wasn't sure if he should be surprised that they knew he was there, or that they knew who he was. Shaking his head, Crowley confirmed their suspicions. "I am afraid that I don't."

Will's shoulders slumped. He was clearly disappointed and irked that no one knew them. Halt felt slightly bad for him. He already liked the two strangers and if they fought like the Rangers they claimed they were, he could let them stay here...

"Crowley, escort these two to their rooms and report back to me." the king turned towards the Ranger. "Make sure the servants serve them whatever they want to eat and drink and provide them with a fresh set of clothes."

Crowley nodded. "Yes sir. Please follow me."

"Hold on. Are we prisoners?" Gilan raised a curt eyebrow at Halt and Crowley.

Both shook their heads. "Oh no. If you were prisoners you'd be in the dungeons at this very moment." Halt reinsured him.

The two exchanged a glance. They turned to talk in whispers and then nodded. Following Crowley, they saw two Rangers outside the doors holding their weapons and cloaks. Both sighed, knowing they wouldn't be in possession of those for a while. Hearing a wild horse, reminded them of something else.

"Crowley?" Gilan asked.

"Yes?"

"Is it at all possible for us to go take care of our horses?" he questioned.

Crowley shrugged. "That's up to the king. You may not be prisoners, but we want to keep a close eyes on you. I can assure you that they will be taken good care of. I have a Ranger attending to that personally."

They stopped in front of a pair of double doors. "I assume you're okay with sharing a room?" They both nodded. "Okay then. There should be some servants coming up soon. Dinner will be served around five. The king will be expecting you."

The Ranger Commandant went to leave, but turned back around. "Oh, and your name is Gilan Davidson correct?"

The young Ranger nodded. Crowley raised his eyebrow and walked out, missing something about battle commanders. Will and Gilan both sighed.

"This is going to be a long day." Will said.

Gilan had to agree. "There's no doubt about that."

They cleaned up and switched their clothes with the ones that they were given. It wasn't long before coffee was sent up with some food, which was a simple beef stew and some fresh, warm bread. Out of pure caution, they checked the doors to make sure they could get out. Will was just finishing the stew when Gilan came back.

"Hey Gil, you know what this is missing?" the younger Ranger gave a grim smile.

He shook his head, and took a sip. "No, what?"

Instantaneously they both said, "Halt's red wine."

Halt was never a big fan of wine, but he was known to put a generous dash of red wine to his stews. He refused to tell anyone where he got the wine, and as a result of this, Gilan and Will rarely made stews unless Halt was around. That way they could get some of that delicious red wine.

Gilan looked up from finishing the stew and frowned at the look on Will's face. "Will, what's wrong? What's on your mind?" he questioned.

"It's nothing. I'm just concerned, that's all."

"About what?"

Will sighed and tilted his head back. "I just don't get it. We've both known Halt for a long time. Sure we knew he was a king, but what would make him trade being a Ranger for all of this?" the young Ranger waved his hand across the room to prove his point.

"Plus Crowley and all the other Rangers. Why would they serve him? I guess he's very respected, but this is just ridiculous!" he shouted.

Gilan raised an eyebrow and chuckled slightly. "I know, right? Never in a million years did I expect something like that. But hey, let's not get to upset."

Will took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, but still. It hurts for him not to know who I am."

Getting up and going to the door, Gilan looked on with dark eyes. "Like I don't know how that feels." he muttered.

Following Will, that dark look vanished. But since it was there once, it could always return...

And it would.

* * *

 **Hello! Here's the update of the month! I hope you enjoyed and now, onto guest reviews!**

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 **Well that's all! Review!**

 **Best Regards,**

 **PFT221B**


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